Deck 1: The Sociological Imagination

Question 1

Sociology can most accurately be considered a natural science because it involves the systematic examination of the effects of human nature on society.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The view that social order is maintained through cooperation and consensus would most likely be held by

A) global sociologists.
B) functionalists.
C) conflict theorists.
D) interactionists.

Answer 2

functionalists.

Question 3

The interactionist perspective

A) views force and coercion as the only ways to maintain social order.
B) focuses on how privileged groups are the primary agents of change.
C) views society as being naturally stable and averse to change.
D) uses everyday forms of social interaction to explain society as a whole.

Answer 3

uses everyday forms of social interaction to explain society as a whole.

Question 4

Which of the following stresses the study of small groups?

A) macrosociology
B) microsociology
C) conflict theory
D) middle-range sociology

Question 5

Distinguish between personal, academic, applied, and clinical sociology. Which of these approaches to sociology is the most useful, and why?

Question 6

A sociologist observing behavior at a college football game would most likely focus on

A) the interaction among fans during the pre-game ritual of tailgate parties.
B) a fan who has fallen asleep during the game's fourth quarter.
C) the coach's demeanor on the sideline.
D) the cleanliness of the restroom facilities in the stadium.

Question 7

According to Durkheim's theory about the causes of suicide, the more interconnected and interdependent a society's members, the lower its suicide rate should be.

Question 8

Which of the following is True about Harriet Martineau?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) She believed scholars should be activists and not just commentators.
C) She introduced the significance of inequality and power into the discipline of sociology.
D) She wrote the first book on sociological methods.

Question 9

The fact that it is possible to make a hamburger without having to personally complete every one of the many steps that go into making a hamburger from scratch illustrates

A) society's shared knowledge and skills.
B) the health risks of fast food.
C) our independence from society.
D) the accessibility of cheap food in our modern society.

Question 10

Which of the following BEST represents an example of a public issue?

A) being fired from a job due to chronic lateness
B) being turned down for a job because of one's ethnicity
C) being charged an overdraft fee by a bank for a bounced check
D) having to declare bankruptcy following a period of unemployment

Question 11

Max Weber's theory of power included

A) natural resources and the right to rule.
B) social status and organizational resources.
C) displacement and material resources.
D) social status and educational availability.

Question 12

Which sociological perspective would argue that public punishments reinforce the social order?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) feminist perspective

Question 13

In general, sociologists tend to

A) draw insights from all three major sociological perspectives.
B) reject the research of colleagues who emphasize a different perspective.
C) focus their research within one of the three major sociological perspectives.
D) reject the ideas of conflict theorists as being archaic.

Question 14

The sociological imagination

A) results in anomie.
B) recognizes the interdependent relationship between individuals and social forces.
C) focuses on the distinction between world history and world culture.
D) is the ability to construct fictional stories from events in our lives.

Question 15

Which sociological perspective emphasizes the distribution of power and the allocation of resources?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) global perspective
D) interactionist perspective

Question 16

Society consists of the structure of relationships within which culture is created and shared through

A) regular patterns of social interaction.
B) negotiating systems of power.
C) a common set of religious beliefs.
D) shared economic rituals.

Question 17

Sociologists believe that your

A) personal preferences determine your actions.
B) family background plays a minor role in shaping who you are.
C) social situation determines your actions.
D) position in society affects your access to resources and opportunities.

Question 18

Erving Goffman recommended studying everyday interactions as he

A) compares everyday life to a theatrical performance.
B) emphasizes the dramatic consequences of political revolution.
C) uses theater as therapy to cure anti-social tendencies.
D) focuses on the study of actors as representatives of the larger society.

Question 19

Sociologists believe that our actions as individuals are influenced by our social class, race, gender, and other factors beyond our immediate control.

Question 20

Which of the following would be an example of the use of the sociological imagination?

A) a study of an individual's sleeping patterns
B) an analysis of the content of dreams and how the individual's daily life is reflected in subconscious thought
C) an analysis of the United States president's power to declare war
D) a study of the behavior of people listening to a religious service compared to that of people listening to a rock concert

Question 21

Briefly describe the three main sociological perspectives. To what extent are these perspectives mutually complementary? To what extent are they mutually contradictory? Which, in your view, provides the most compelling perspective on society?

Question 22

Harriet Martineau argued that we could learn a lot about a culture by analyzing the ideas, themes, and images reflected in which type of cultural product?

A) television shows
B) bestselling books
C) All of the answer choices are correct.
D) popular songs

Question 23

The primary relationships studied by sociologists are the ones between

A) corporations and society.
B) different societies.
C) individuals and society.
D) the state and society.

Question 24

Differentiate between the terms "sociology" and "sociological imagination." How useful is the concept of sociological imagination to our understanding of society, the individual, and the relationship between the two?

Question 25

One of the main tasks of sociology is to reveal levels of social

A) studies.
B) inequality.
C) anxiety.
D) insurance.

Question 26

A sociologist who views religion as a societal institution that functions to preserve existing inequalities is most likely to be a conflict theorist in terms of perspective.

Question 27

Which of the following would be the type of question a sociologist might ask in studying the global economic crisis that began in 2008?

A) How did this crisis affect people psychologically?
B) How do the positions we occupy influence our experience of the crisis?
C) How did this crisis result in the bankruptcy of a particular company?
D) How has this crisis affected animal populations and the environment?

Question 28

A set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior is called a(n)

A) theory.
B) analysis.
C) science.
D) typology.

Question 29

Which sociological perspective would argue that social change is predictable in its progression toward greater order?

A) interactionist perspective
B) functionalist perspective
C) conflict perspective
D) feminist perspective

Question 30

Which of the following is/are the key component(s) of the definition of sociology?

A) systematic study
B) the consequences of social differences
C) All of the answer choices are correct.
D) the individual and society

Question 31

Given C. Wright Mills' description of the sociological imagination as our recognition of the interdependent relationship between who we are as individuals and the social forces that shape our lives, it follows that neither society nor the individual can be understood in isolation from the other.

Question 32

Which sociological approach would argue that people respect laws or disobey them based on their own past experience as well as their subjective understanding of the law?

A) functionalist perspective
B) interactionist perspective
C) conflict perspective
D) feminist perspective

Question 33

A sociological relationship between the individual and society is one in which the choices of the individual are determined by the individual's societal position.

Question 34

Which sociological perspective would argue that laws reinforce the positions of those in power?

A) None of the answer choices are correct.
B) functionalist perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) conflict perspective

Question 35

Explain what is meant by the phrase "the consequences of difference." Why is this concept so important to the study of sociology? Illustrate your answer with a real-world example of the importance of the consequences of difference.

Question 36

Durkheim was particularly concerned about

A) racism.
B) sexism.
C) the loss of social order.
D) the oppression of the masses.

Question 37

Which of the following is True about Jane Addams?

A) She used sociology as a tool to improve the lives of the urban poor.
B) She rejected the idea that sociologists should be social reformers.
C) She worked primarily with male sociologists.
D) She sought to impose segregation in Chicago public schools.

Question 38

Fields of study that explore the physical features of nature and the ways in which they interact and change are considered

A) natural sciences.
B) psychological categories.
C) social sciences.
D) typologies.

Question 39

The sociological imagination is an empowering tool because it

A) enables us to predict the outcome of elections through the analysis of historical data.
B) helps us to understand the perspectives of people from different social circumstances.
C) minimizes daydreaming and other forms of procrastination.
D) allows us to write great fictional literature with fantastic elements.

Question 40

Unemployment can be viewed as

A) neither a private trouble nor a public issue.
B) a private trouble.
C) both a private trouble and a public issue.
D) a public issue.

Question 41

The main purpose of the "hamburger as miracle" story is to show that, when the need arises, all individuals are capable of achieving their goals without the help of others.

Question 42

Which of the following is an accurate description of sociology?

A) the systematic study of how major social institutions and individuals interact
B) the systematic study of the relationship between the individual and society
C) All of the answer choices are correct.
D) the systematic study of how social relationships influence people's behavior

Question 43

A natural scientist would be likely to study

A) food preparation among a tribal group in New Guinea.
B) the interaction between men and women on a college campus.
C) the clothing patterns of a group of people during a 100-year period.
D) rock formations and composition in the Grand Canyon.

Question 44

Ida Wells-Barnett investigated power and inequality based on

A) race and class.
B) gender and race.
C) class and gender.
D) gender and geography.

Question 45

With which of the following conflicting groups are contemporary conflict theorists concerned?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) women and men
C) the wealthy and the poor
D) African Americans and Caucasians

Question 46

The choice not to participate in any form of organized religion is an example of individual agency.

Question 47

W. E. B. Du Bois investigated power and inequality based on

A) class.
B) geography.
C) gender.
D) race.

Question 48

Personal sociology

A) requires recognition of how our individual position in society shapes our perspective.
B) requires individuals to become social activists and take responsibility for others' actions.
C) recognizes that the actions of individuals have little effect on others or society as a whole.
D) tends to be practiced only by academic sociologists.

Question 49

Which sociologist established Europe's first university department of sociology?

A) Max Weber
B) C. Wright Mills
C) Émile Durkheim
D) Auguste Comte

Question 50

Which sociological perspective would suggest that social change is reflected in people's communication patterns and social positions?

A) interactionist perspective
B) functionalist perspective
C) feminist perspective
D) conflict perspective

Question 51

In which of the following practices might a clinical sociologist engage?

A) working within a company to help identify and improve communication problems
B) advising public health officials on the need for substance abuse education
C) studying the relationship between violent crime and the closure of factories in a community
D) researching the prevalence of opiate addiction in a small town

Question 52

Which of the following is a functionalist perspective?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) Society is structured to maintain stability.
C) Society is inherently unequal.
D) Society is characterized by tension and struggle.

Question 53

Of the various ways to practice sociology, the way that offers the most direct link between theory and practice is clinical sociology.

Question 54

Fields of study that explore the social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and change are considered

A) typologies.
B) psychological categories.
C) natural sciences.
D) social sciences.

Question 55

In Karl Marx's analysis, social inequality is determined by

A) African Americans and Caucasians who clash in pursuit of their own racial interests.
B) sexism and the way it causes domination of women.
C) ownership, or lack thereof, of key material resources.
D) the religious and the non-religious who clash in pursuit of their own interests.

Question 56

To what extent can sociology legitimately be considered a science? Use examples to illustrate your answer.

Question 57

Which of the following statements is True?

A) Clinical sociology is dedicated to facilitating change by altering organizations or restructuring social institutions.
B) Clinical sociology has existed for only the last 20 years.
C) Applied sociology has become less popular in recent decades.
D) Applied sociology is dedicated to facilitating change by altering organizations or restructuring social institutions.

Question 58

Which of the following did Karl Marx view as the key factor distinguishing humans from animals?

A) animals' preoccupation with obtaining sustenance and reproducing
B) humans' ability to transform raw material into finished product
C) animals' relative lack of social structure
D) humans' ability to love and form caring relationships

Question 59

A social scientist would be likely to study the

A) newest procedure in heart transplant surgery.
B) reasons for the decreasing divorce rate in the United States.
C) composition of a meteorite discovered in a remote area of Siberia.
D) possibility of life on the planet Mars.

Question 60

Which of the following is True about Auguste Comte?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) He thought humans could learn to understand the forces that caused society to change.
C) He thought humans could learn to understand the forces that helped society to maintain order and stability.
D) He sought to establish a science that would reveal the basic "laws of society."